"Four essays ... analyze broad trends in Chinese military modernization. While they treat strategic capabilities ... the essays analyze considerably more. They look at the whole pattern of Chinese military modernization-- strategy, doctrine, information warfare, ground, naval and air forces. The essays come to ... much the same conclusion: that while the PLA ... is acquiring "pockets" of modern capabilities through a variety of legal and illegal endeavors, these selective acquisitions do not offset the overall obsolescence of most of China's armed forces."